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By Laura Pappano

Augusta National’s decision to invite two female members (former Secretary of State Condi Rice and financier Darla Moore) to join reminds us that private golf clubs are not just about golf. And this is where I do some head scratching: Why wouldn’t all clubs want women?

When Virginia Rometty, the new CEO of IBM, was not invited to join August this spring because she was female, despite the club’s tradition of offering membership to the Masters sponsor CEO, it looked juvenile.

If Augusta – and other clubs – serve as a de-facto corporate water cooler, why would you want to deny your members access to IBM’s CEO?

Some have compared the tradition of all-male golf clubs and outings as equivalents to “girl’s night out.” But they’re not.

Golf is a sport that reveals instincts and character. It is a sport in which you inflict penalties on yourself (even if no one else saw the ball move during your practice swing, it’s your job to assess a stroke.) It is a game that invites collaboration and problem solving (how do you read the green? Your ball landed over just left of that bunker, etc…) It elicits congratulations to your opponent even as you compete.

Golf is also slow. It takes time to play, allowing for relationships to develop and conversation to unfold. It is apart from e-mail and (mostly) cell phones. It is time to think and talk and relate.

At a time when all the leaders were men, having a men-only club seemed like a clever maneuver, if you could pull it off (and Hootie Johnson did despite being called out by Martha Burk).

But as more women ascend to prominent leadership roles, it looks counter-productive. If we consider that females now outnumber men on college campuses and in seeking advanced degrees, the future suggests this march will continue.

Augusta National may be a high profile example, but elite mens-only clubs remain spotted around the country excluding as members accomplished and prominent women. Women should cry foul – if the guys don’t cry foolish first.

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There are 2 comments on this post. Join the discussion!

Crimson says:

You can be certain that the members of Augusta don't care if you think their private club is foolish or not. Before you have a formal coronation of women due to their "ascension" I suggest you look around and observe who actually runs the world and let everyone know what you discover. That is if you can report facts instead of PC tripe.

All the Augusta situation proves is something that most men have known for years...that if women complain long enough, loudly enough and obnoxiously enough eventually they just wear men out, regardless of the facts, law and their right to gather with parties of their choosing.

The most amazing thing about this entire drama is, as you should know, all U.S. citizens have the right to gather with whomever they choose and exclude whomever they choose. Augusta was always totally within their rights as a private club to invite whomever they wanted to. The fact that a bunch of gender feminists felt they needed to force their worldview on a private club says more about them than it does about Augusta. It also makes a person ponder what other constitutionally protected rights gender feminists think they can trample upon via hags like Burke and your friends in the media.

The members of Augusta didn't just magically become Burke disciples. They obviously hired a public relations firm to craft a press release to pander to you ladies and your loudmouthed girlfriend Burke to shut you up. If you think for a second their general membership has "come around" to your way of thinking you're dreaming. This has nothing to do with equal rights and everything to do with taking the rights of others away. Not that you have any intention of letting reality intrude on your politics.

Thursday, August 23, 2012 at 12:34am EDT

mcjack says:

I assume you also mean that women's-only clubs look equally foolish.

Thursday, August 23, 2012 at 11:07pm EDT

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